If you dig around in those boxes in the back of the closet, you’re almost guaranteed to come across some old 4×6 photo albums and that stack of holiday photo cards (& birth announcements) that you couldn’t bear to throw away. Pull those goodies out and dust them off… I have a project for you! There’s that old saying: “Out of sight is out of mind.” Well, don’t let those loved ones be out of your child’s mind. Put those photos to good use!
Start by organizing the photo cards into categories — family, playgroup friends, neighborhood friends, friends that live far away, etc.
For your very young child, cut the photo cards so that they’ll fit in the photo album. If your child is 3 or older, I encourage you to draw a line on the card where you’d like your child to cut, and hand the safety scissors over to those little (and likely very eager) hands.
Use blank address labels or small pieces of masking tape to label the FRONT of each photo with the names of everyone in the photo. Use clear, block letters so that your child may (or may someday) read the names.
Slide the photos into the sleeves of the album, maintaining the logical order you’ve established.
Read through the photo album frequently with your child, and encourage him or her to “read” it to you. Keep it somewhere accessible for your little one to browse through whenever he or she desires.
You’ll be amazed how much this book will help your child to be comfortable with your friends and family who live far away when you’re all together for those short, infrequent visits. He or she will also start to recognize names, and you can guide your child in sounding out the names.
So, here’s a way to consider the value of this project:
- That old photo album: $2.99 ten years ago
- Those holiday photo cards everyone else sent to you: free to you, but a lot of $$ to them
- The look on Great Aunt So&so’s face when your child seems genuinely happy to see her in person for the first time: priceless!
Posted by M 
